A/N: I'm sure it shocked no one which option won the poll. I was pretty sure it would be this one, but I thought it might be nice to at least let people have their say for once. Not to worry, you'll get the other stories in time.
24: Soulmates Part Four
Naoko stared at her laptop. Her arms were crossed, and her brow was furrowed. Her heart pounded unsteadily in her chest as she waited for the call. "This is just a courtesy," she reminded herself, since she doubted anything could persuade her to let her only child spend a summer with some stranger that could afford a plane ticket without batting an eyelash.
There were just too many ways an arrangement like this could go wrong. At least the grandmother had insisted on doing the call while Haru was at school so that her sweet daughter wouldn't hear if the discussion turned into screaming.
Not that the older woman had mentioned that last part. It was merely one possibility to being told 'no'.
After what felt like a century, her new Skype contact began ringing. Breathing in and out to steady herself, Naoko answered it.
Her mouth promptly fell open.
"Just there, Toto," an elderly lady crooned.
Naoko couldn't think of anything else to call her. The woman was clearly old, but even without the formal dress, the silken blanket over her lap, and the high back chair she was sitting on, there could be no doubt that she was every inch a lady.
Naoko had thought she had done well to put on a clean button-up shirt and brush her hair for the Skype call, but this woman was making her feel as scruffy as a scullery maid.
Almost to prove that she was a true lady, the imposing woman offered a warm smile through the laptop. "I am very pleased that you agreed to speak with me, Mrs. Yoshioka. My grandson's spoken of little else since coming in contact with your daughter."
Naoko nodded a bit dumbly before shaking her head to clear it. 'I know Haru warned me that Baron described her as 'impressive', but I wasn't expecting this!'
"Before we begin, may I have the pleasure of introducing you to Humbert?" the grandmother asked, turning her head to the side with an audible crack of bone and a smile full of loving pride.
There was absolutely no need to explain that the one who came forward to stand by her chair was her grandson. Although dressed in a simple grey suit, the twenty-something young man nearly radiated with the same noble dignity that needed no fanfare.
He offered Naoko a warm smile and even a tip of the top hat. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Mrs. Yoshioka. Haru speaks the world of you."
That part didn't shock Naoko; they were each other's biggest confidants for most of her daughter's life. But the dominant part of Naoko's brain was assembling the stately manner, the formal clothes, and the clearly well-stocked library that they were filming from. It could have been from a movie set!
"Baron's… not just a nickname. Is it?" Naoko finally managed to ask with a nervous smile.
"No," Baron admitted without a flinch of guilt. "I would normally feel terrible for hiding such a large part of my life from a new but already dear friend, but I have greatly enjoyed knowing for certain that at least one lovely young lady likes my personality first." He then smiled, his stunning green eyes fading far, far away. "One of the reasons I want her to spend the summer with us is so that I can have the chance to thank her in person."
Naoko could believe that as well. Her daughter blushed and smiled foolishly when she spoke about her new pen pal, but if Haru had seen her friend even in a photo, she'd be too embarrassed to talk about him, let alone to him!
"Mrs. Yoshioka," the grandmother gently called for the woman's attention. "I more than sympathize with the fears you must have concerning Haru's safety and well-being so far from your reach. But…" she cast a nervous glance at her grandson. "Due to circumstances, I must keep to myself the reasons I am certain that your daughter will be coming to live here after she has come of age. We did perform a background check on her- and yourself- for security's sake. But even without it, I know for myself that you have been blessed with an exceptional young lady. I don't know how much time I have left, but it would please me beyond measure to meet her at least once."
Naoko knew it didn't exactly make her look refined, but she had to pound one fist into her chest to help her lungs remember how to work. "Haru's only seventeen. Don't you think it's a little early for that kind of talk?" 'Not to mention exposing her to those kinds of pressures!'
Instead of getting offended, the saintly woman smiled even more beautifully. "I will take that to mean that Haru hasn't told you how she came in contact with my grandson."
"It's perfectly understandable, Grandmother," Baron consoled her with an adoring smile. "Haru did mention yesterday that she was fighting not to draw obvious conclusions from such an irregularity. Mrs. Yoshioka, ask your daughter specifics on how we met, and keep an open mind. I assure you it was just as startling on our end as hers." He smiled ruefully while sneaking a teasing glare at his smirking grandmother. "Perhaps even more so."
Naoko tilted her head at him, feeling a bit like a cat as she did so, and twice as curious. "I thought she was already being specific, but all right."
"All right as in 'she can come'?" Baron asked eagerly.
"No, no, not that 'all right'," Naoko quickly amended, though holding in a giggle at seeing the handsome young man deflate with disappointment. "When she comes home, I mean. I… just…"
The elderly woman continued to smile, even as she held her grandson's hand in comfort. "Regardless of what you imagined, my Humbert simply can't take the whole summer off his responsibilities to sweep Haru off her feet. He will be enjoying her companionship right enough, but your daughter would be spending most of her time at our manor with me."
Naoko's eyebrows shot up with interest. That would be a completely different scenario.
Thrilled to have captured her attention, the dowager baroness continued. "I was not trying to earn sympathy with telling you about my poor health. There are many things Haru will need to learn, need to understand if my hopes for her are brought to fruition. Our family has not cared for the pomp and circumstance of court, though we must make at least yearly appearances. She will not be as suffocated as she would if she were being courted by a prince."
Despite the gravity of the words, Naoko couldn't resist holding back a mirthful smile as she noticed the hot surge of jealousy flood through her daughter's pen pal, though the only outward thing he did about it was squeeze his grandmother's hand as if to reaffirm she was there as she continued to speak.
"There will be chaperones, including myself. She will be under my personal care. The education she will receive under my roof will not be measurable by a paper exam, but it will serve her greatly for the rest of her life. Even if my hopes are in vain, she will be grateful for what I wish to teach her while I still have the chance."
Haru was going to worship this woman. There was absolutely no doubt of it. Though Naoko had suffered through enough 'in-law' trouble to last her a lifetime, she found herself surprisingly eager for Haru to have someone like the elderly baroness in her life.
Naoko opened her mouth to surrender the argument but cut herself short with a new thought. "If you agree to one tiny favor, she can come."
"Whatever you want," Baron assured her, stepping closer to the camera and just keeping himself from holding up his gloved hands in the classic 'begging' position.
Naoko took her sweet time lacing her fingers together, leaning just a bit closer to the camera, and delivering a feral smile.
"The first time Haru sees you? I want photos."
The elderly lady grinned. "Would you settle for a video?"